A retired couple's adventures of building a custom home

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The Waiting Game

You usually have to wait for that which is worth waiting for. ~Craig Bruce

There’s really not much happening with the house-building. Still waiting to hear from the builder. Actually, other than playing the waiting game, it’s been quiet on the home front. And, Bill and I aren’t worrying about it because . . .

Thanks, Becca, for posting this graphic on FB. I decided to borrow it. 🙂

Remember when I told you last time that they were installing the cupola on Monday, July 15? Well, it didn’t happen. 😦 Oh, they came for a short time Monday morning and put together the cupola. Turns out there were some parts missing and had to be ordered. They are supposed to come back tomorrow (Monday, July 22) to install it. We’ll see. Here are some pictures of the cupola.

Cupola with windows and topper. Colors coordinate with the barn – clay and bronze

Base which fits over the ridge on the roof of the barn. Then cupola attaches to the base.

Eagle weather vane which will go on top of the cupola.

To give you a little perspective of how huge this cupola is, here is a picture of me standing next to it. It was a lot larger than we thought it would be. Maybe that’s why it cost so much! But, it’s so cute! Don’t you think?

Huge cupola and base

And remember those few footprints last week on that new shiny pole barn floor. Look at all those prints now! I sent this pic to our son Bryan this week via text and he replied he could barely see the cupola because of all the footprints. 😆 He’s such a funny guy!

Bill has worked in the pole barn a little this week, but we’ve been in the middle of a heat wave and it was hot in that barn. He was able to caulk all around the interior. He said in his last pole barn he could always feel air coming through those same areas in the winter. He was determined to cut as much loss of heat as possible.

Caulking in the interior of the barn

When I changed our address with the post office before we moved we received several 10% off Lowe’s coupons. Each one had a different expiration date. Bill was able to save money on all his caulking material for the first coupon. The second coupon expired Thursday. He made another trip to Lowe’s and bought all his 2×4’s and other wood to start putting up his wall studs.

Wood for pole barn interior walls

Jim, Sr. has a ladder and scaffolding that Bill can use to start the project. I think Sr. is also lending Bill his compressor for the air stapler, too. And, they are letting us use the electricity in their barn. It’s great living/sharing in our little commune. Of course, Bill fixes things for them in return. And, we are doing that pet sitting for them while they all go on vacation in two weeks. It all works out. See that big yellow extension cord on the tool box of the trailer on the pic above? That’s the heavy-duty cord Bill needs so he can run that electricity over from their barn to ours. It’s a good thing Bill put windows in the pole barn. He can transfer that cord from their barn window to ours. Sweet! 😛

Now that Bill has access to electricity, he needed some relief from the heat. Today we went to Menards and he bought this 30″ commercial-grade pivoting drum fan. This should help!

Industrial Fan

Yesterday the excavator came up to Jill and Jim’s house and extended their driveway to create additional parking spaces. Since Bill and I brought two more vehicles up here in addition to the Gator (which has found its home in Jim’s garage bay), we felt we would offer to create this additional parking space for J&J. Hey, they are providing us with a free home for many months. We felt this was a win-win for both of us. The new area came out really nice.

New parking area

The new area is about the length of the truck. But the excavator spread the new rock over all the top area so it all looks new.

And now Jim and Jill have a pile of top soil to fill in their bare spots!

Big ‘ol pile of top soil

On a personal note, I was able to sign up for my Medicare supplement insurance and a drug plan. All I do is write checks lately! I start on Medicare August 1! 😯 I think I finally found a dentist office down here which will accept the Delta Dental Direct Discount Card. I’m calling them tomorrow to set up cleaning appointments for Bill and I. Bill still needs to find a couple of doctors down here. I found one and have my first appointment on August 6 to have my “Welcome to Medicare” physical.

Bill had to make a trip to Urgent Care yesterday. He’s been getting all these insect bites and the last several ones have left him with some large red areas around them. Jill and I convinced him to have them checked out. After waiting two hours, the doctor spent about one minute with him and said he had a mild reaction and they put him on an antibiotic. The bites still look yucky. I hope the meds help. Living out here you have to be careful cause there are lots of ticks, mosquitoes, chiggers, spiders, and who knows what else. Bill bought insect repellant today. I just hope he uses it. 😕

Oh, and I took a tour of the YMCA down here this week. I need to do something for exercise and something to relieve these sore knees. They have several water aerobic classes at the Y Jim goes to. Turns out Jim can add me to his membership for $15/month as long as I live in the same household! He’s going to get me added this week. As soon as I’m a member I can call and try to get into a class. The grandkids can attend the activity center free when I go to classes, too. This is also a way for me to meet new people down here. I’m excited.